Pocket Pinups: Portraits of the Cullen Family
by CullenLove
Summary: Several moments from the hilarious life of the Cullen family. Warning: beware of pumpkin suits and thongs!
1. Edward Cullen

Pocket Pinups: Portraits of the Cullen Family 

Edward Cullen

I walked through the close packet streets, my scarf wrapped tight around my throat to hide the small silver scar that showed there. This was a remnant of a battle- an argument with a fellow vampire. Venom was the only thing that left a scar.

Being this close to hundreds of humans- getting on and off trams and walking about their daily chores- unnerved and saddened me. Theirs was the life I'd lost, the very moment when Carlisle's venom had entered my system. He had caused my death; but also saved my life.

_Look at that young man, _one woman thought, _doesn't he look smart! _

_How handsome, _another girl thought, _more so than my husband. _

I walked quicker, trying to shake off the feeling that the thoughts of these people were pressing in on me. I didn't want to be source of their fantasies; I didn't want to be the one they all desired. I hated my power to hear thoughts- it was an intrusion, and rude. Though I couldn't stop myself hearing any more than I could stop myself drinking blood.

One year ago- and today was my anniversary- had been the end of my human life, but the start of my existence. An existence that hung like a silver thread before me, stretching away into the years that would inevitably come; as Time stops for no one. I supposed I was destined to live without love, because my heart had died long ago. No longer did warm blood flow through my body, heating me, giving me feelings of desire, lust, anger, hatred or love. Everything felt cold now, and detached.

It had only been a year, though it felt like less. I still found it hard to contain myself- when a human girl with particularly creamy skin walked past. I could hear the flow of blood around her body like the beat of my long-dead heart. But I wasn't a monster- I could restrain.

Today was busier than normal, with vendors on every corner- young boys selling shoelaces or matches. And the horse-drawn carriages rumbled by like they always did, not yet deserted for the motorcars that would inevitably come in the future. Smells of life- of fresh blood- passed by my nose, teasing and taunting me.

The soft smell of silk on skin, red lace, and cinnamon- the blood of a girl with dark curls about her face and small, red lips.

The smell of pinecones, grass, and dew in the morning- a young boy who danced along the road with his skipping rope and lace-up boots.

Then came the adults, whose blood was stronger, more matured. Like a fine wine that tickled the nostrils and made the back of my throat burn with longing.

Dark musk and burning fires- an old man, his frame still strong, his eyes intense under dark brown eyebrows.

The smell of exposed flesh, of roses- a woman with her three children.

And finally, the last smell I smelt at night- the dark, icy-cold sweetness of my own body.


	2. Jasper Hale

**Jasper Hale**

**Through the whole of the last century, the whole of my existence even, I had never seen anything more capturing than the woman who skipped towards me across the small diner. Her hair was black, spiky and short, and her eyes seemed to shine with excitement. Her small slip-on ballet shoes squeaked against the clean floor as she came towards me. **

"**You've kept me waiting a long time," she said, her quiet voice like bells. She was wearing a floaty red dress that was embroidered with flowers. **

**I lowered my head. "I'm sorry ma'am," I answered, though my brain was filled with confusion and wonder. I couldn't understand- this female was acting like nothing I had ever experienced before. She hadn't attacked me- she seemed **_**friendly**_**. Her emotions were a swirling mass of happiness, relief, joy and amusement. **

**She took my hand, her small fingers laced with mine, and it felt right. Like we had been moulded out of clay to fit each other. My hopes rose. Maybe I wouldn't have to hate any longer… maybe I would be able to feel normal emotions, and be able to sink out of the pit of depression I had fallen into these past years. **

**She led me out of the diner, into the raging storm that I barely noticed. It whipped my hair about my face and into my eyes, but I couldn't feel the pain. **

"**My name is Alice," she said. "And yours is Jasper."**

"**Would it be rude to inquire how you know my name?" I said. I thought it improper to be holding a woman's hand, especially as she was a stranger. But I didn't want to drop her hand- it felt good. **

"**I am a vampire, as you probably know," Alice explained lightly, "And my power is to see the future. I've been waiting for you Jasper- and even if you didn't know it, you have been waiting for me. And now we've found each other!"**

**I didn't have a reply to this, but I knew her words to be true. **

"**I know everything about you," Alice said softly, and squeezed my hand. **

**I tensed at once. She knew everything? All those fights… all those humans I had murdered?**

"**Don't worry," Alice chimed, "I don't blame you for any of it. With all that pain and hatred… I'm surprised you survived!"**

"**You know about my power, ma'am?"**

"**Don't be silly," Alice giggled, "There's no use in calling me that! But yes, I know about you power. I know it must have been hard to restrain yourself as much as you did."**

**I began to run after her, and we picked up speed. I followed on her heels as she gracefully loped just ahead of me. **

"**Where are we going?" I asked simply. **

"**We're going to live with other vampires," she muttered from ahead. **

**I stopped running. **

**After a few seconds, she stopped, and came back to me. **

"**What is it?" she said softly, a hand on my shoulder. **

"**I can't live with others… there are too many emotions! I can't stand hate any more."**

"**What do you mean, Jasper? They won't hate you! I've seen it," she tapped her temple. **

"**You misunderstand me," I said. "I'm not worried about that."**

**I stared at her face, at her pale cheeks and her perfectly slanted eyebrows. She stared back for a couple of seconds, then she closed her eyes and a small crease appeared on her forehead. She seemed to sway on her feet, and then she began to fall. I rushed forward, and caught her before she touched the ground. **

**She lay there in my arms, seeming to weigh no more than a feather. She still didn't wake. **

"**Alice!" I said worriedly. I brushed her hair away from her eyes and shook her gently. Vampires couldn't get ill, could they? Was I just about to loose my only hope, as soon as it was given to me? That couldn't happen. It wouldn't. **

**I began to run. **


	3. Carlisle Cullen

Carlisle Cullen 

I staggered up from the ground, my eyes straining through the darkness. My heart beat like a bongo drum in my chest, fast and wild. Pain ripped through me- like a knife through the heart.

The alleyway was dirty, the ground littered with potato peelings and horse manure from the carts that rumbled along in the daytime. I didn't know where I was, and couldn't care less in this state, but I hadn't moved for three days so I must still have been in London. I looked down at my body, lanky and pale in a sliver of moonlight that cascaded like a silver river down from the dark sky. I could see my wounds, every cut that covered my body, every slash and tear and rip in my skin. My body felt like it was burning, liquid flames tearing at my flesh. I was on fire.

Would the pain never end? Was this what it felt like to be in hell? I couldn't understand. I hadn't lived a sin-free life, but it was as close as you could get. My father had never let me put a toe out of line, and I had obeyed him.

I put a shaky hand on my chest. My heart was slower now, giving in. My conscious mind was telling me to give up, take my last breath, and let the fire have me. For the first time in my life, I rebelled.

"I can't die now," I whispered. My voice sounded strong through the pain that laced my every word. My heart spluttered… and a jolt of pain swept through me. My knees buckled, and I landed face-first in a large pile of manure.

I didn't have the strength to move, I didn't have the will to move, and I couldn't even smell what I had landed in. I closed my eyes, and gave in.

The first thing I noticed was that the pain had stopped. My body felt light, and cold, like I had just immersed myself in a bath that had been standing too long. The second thing I noticed was the disgusting smell all around me.

In a second, I had jumped up, and sprung away from the manure. I surprised myself with how fast I had moved- I was now on the other side of the street. I looked down at my body, and my eyes widened. My exposed thighs that were showing through my ripped trousers were muscled and pale, the skin looking almost as white as ice. I ran a hand through my hair- it felt the same, but softer, like a fluffy feather pillow.

I looked down at my feet, and saw two things. The first was a nail, and the second was a puddle. Not very significant things, you could say, but they were to me. They were the things that showed me for what I truly am.

I looked into the dirty puddle of liquid, not wondering what it could be, because it wasn't water. The first thing that struck me was my reflection. I had a pair of ruby red eyes.

"No!" I shouted. I continued in a whisper, "This can't be happening, not to me!"

I looked down at the nail and suddenly brought my foot down on it, meaning to stab it into my flesh. Instead, when I lifted my bare foot, I saw a pile of dust. "I can't be one of them! Not when I have hunted them so passionately."

That pair of red eyes looked back at me, mocking. I stared at them for what felt like hours, until I began to see compassion in them, sadness, and understanding. I didn't have to be a monster- after all, I was still myself. To save others, I would kill myself.

The sprint out of the city took less than ten minutes- London was much smaller those days than it is now. My vampire speed helped as well. It only took me another three hours to make it to Dover, and the White Cliffs. Before I reached Dover, I had already tried to suffocate myself, crack my head against a wall to break my skull, stick a twig up my nose into my brain, and break my back by jumping off a high building.

Nothing worked.

The white cliffs of Dover were as high as everyone said they were. Higher, it seemed to me. As the lightning broke apart the sky, I saw the thrashing, roiling waves, and my stomach lurched. At least I would die quickly, if I could drown.

I stepped towards the edge of the cliff, my toes wrapped around the rock face. Before I knew it, I had jumped, and the ground was flying away above me.

And the sensation of falling was freedom.

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Thanks for reading, people!

And please review if you want more!

I have to get five more reviews before I post another chapter!

And… I have a magic choice for you today! (Man, aren't you guys lucky?)

The next chapter is going to be a vote-

If you want it to be Alice

If you want it to be Emmett

If you want it to be… Tanya!

Just write their name in your review, and the person with the most votes will be the next chappie !!

CullenLove

Ps. REVIEW!!


	4. Bella Cullen

Bella Cullen October 2007, after her wedding in August 

"What are you doing, Bella?" Edward asked me. He was standing behind me, with his pale hands on the back of my chair. His chin was resting on the top of my head, and I could feel his cool breath on my skin. Every few seconds, I could feel him place butterfly kisses across my scalp.

I had wanted to write to Jacob for weeks now, and had put it off because I had worried about Edward's reaction when I told him I needed to communicate with my friend. I wondered whether it would just be easier to lie, but as soon as that thought passed my mind, I dismissed it. There were no secrets in love, and Edward was a big boy now. He could handle it.

"I'm writing to Jacob," I muttered.

"Ah," was all Edward said in reply.

I turned in the chair to look at him, and he was smiling vaguely. "Ask after his health from me," he said. "I'll be downstairs."

I nodded and he left the room. As soon as I heard his footsteps on the stairs, I let out a breath. Edward hadn't even minded. If I could possibly love him even more, I did now. I dipped my pen in the ink and began to write.

_**Dear Jacob,**_

I am breaking promises by sending you this letter. I swore to myself that I wouldn't hurt you any more, and I made likewise promises to Edward. But I thought maybe you would like to hear from me- as much as I have been wishing for word from you.

_We are in England now, with the rest of the family. I know it will hurt you to read this, but I had a beautiful wedding and I was changed the day after. This is one reason why it is probably better we keep up a long distance relationship- we probably wouldn't be able to stand the smell of each other now! _

_Since I was changed, I have found it 'challenging' to restrain myself from human blood, but knowing that by taking someone's life that you are also destroying their dreams and hopes, and taking them away from their loved ones, it is not so hard. Edward never lets me step a toe out of line- and I have a clean slate, which I intend to keep that way. _

_I haven't started at college yet, and don't think I will for another couple of decades. I hate to think that by attending school I am putting others in danger. I will wait until I can completely control myself before doing that, and I wont go out in public before. You have no need to worry about the people I come in contact with; I have it covered!_

_I would like you to know, if you can still believe it, that I am missing you terribly. Every day apart feels like an eternity, and all those memories we share often come to occupy my daydreams. I hope the pain you are no doubt feeling can get better in time, and that I have not completely destroyed a part of you which can never be recovered. I love you, Jacob Black. That will never change. But even a lifetime's worth of apologies can never quell the guilt I feel. I hope I have not destroyed your life, and that you will find another to love as much as you did me. _

_Although you were never on the best of terms with Edward, he was asking after you. If you decided to reply to this letter, we would all be grateful to hear from you. And no one more than I. It would make my day! _

_How is Billy? And the rest of the pack? I hope you are all leading lives with an essence of normality now we have left Forks! _

_Yours sincerely, _

_Bella Cullen x_

I laid the pen down on the writing table and read back over the letter. It sounded oddly formal, not like how I would have written it a year ago. I suppose a lot had changed since then.

I guess I owed it to Jacob not to play with his emotions too much, so writing it in this sort of style maybe was best. And living with a family whose normal conversation put Shakespeare to shame perhaps was rubbing off on me.

I grinned to myself as I sealed the letter, and then inked Jacob's address on the front of the envelope. Sighing deeply, I pushed back the chair and left the envelope on the writing desk. I would ask Carlisle to post it on his way to work tomorrow.

Edward was waiting for me downstairs, wearing only his black boxers and an apron with chocolate muffins on it. He was grinning widely, and in his oven-gloved hands was a batch of cookies.

"What are those for?" I asked as I descended the stairs.

"Can't you guess?" he replied with a crooked half smile that made me melt. He put the tray of cookies on the table and pulled off the oven gloves.

"I honestly have no idea," I answered. "In case you've forgotten, I'm not human any more…"

Edward came closer to me, and I noticed that his golden eyes were dancing with humour. The very eyes which had drawn me to him in the first place, which seemed like the gateway to the soul he thought he no longer had.

"Unless you are planning on feeding them to Emmett," I said thoughtfully.

"I don't think even Emmett would fall for that," Edward said. He spun around and plucked a muffin from the tray. "But you on the other hand…"

In the next second, Edward had shoved a cookie into my mouth. As the familiar smell filled my mouth, I began to cough loudly, trying not to swallow the cookie. It tasted like sawdust. Not swallowing was made harder by the fact that I was laughing my head off as I coughed. After about a minute, I managed to get the cookie out my mouth. I made to throw the mangled mess at Edward, but instead chucked it into the bin and jumped at him.

With a squeal, I knocked us both over onto the ground. I sat on Edward's chest, holding him down. Although he could have escaped by himself, he waited to see what I would do.

"You never did tell me what the cookies were for," I whispered softly.

"They're for the children," Edward answered just as smoothly.

"The children?" I muttered, "What are you talking about?"

"Do you have any concept at all of time, Bella?" Edward asked.

"I know it's October," I muttered. "But I don't know what day."

"It's October the 30th," Edward said, "The day before Halloween."

"Ah," I said. "Well aren't you thoughtful? Cookies for the kids."

"I do my best," Edward said with a chuckle.

I looked down at him for a few moments. _What a good dad he would make…_ I thought. _Better than any human could do. If only we could have children!  
_"Hmmm," I said, tapping my chin with a finger. "I think like you better without this." And I lifted myself up off his body for a fraction of a second and whipped the apron off him.

He grinned up at me with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"To answer your thought from before… if you were still human," Edward started, his voice low and ever so soft, "I wouldn't be able to do this." And he leaned in, and placed his cold lips on mine.

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Hope you liked it!  
Just imagine… Edward in nothing but an apron and his boxers!

And Alice was the person who got the most votes, so I'll be doing her POV next!

CullenLove xxx

Ps. A cookie made by Edward to everyone who reviews!


	5. Mary Alice Brandon

Alice's POV 

Isn't it strange how every moment can seem like a dream, and yet be reality? How every breath echoes in your ears as loud as a drum, but is as quiet as a hummingbird's wings to everyone else? Well that is how my life is.

My name is Mary Alice Brandon, and I am insane.

Or so they tell me.

Three years ago, my mother betrayed me. But let's begin at the beginning, shall we? It's a very good place to start!

On my fifteenth birthday, I discovered my 'gift'- though many would call it a curse that ruined my life and stole my sanity. You see, I had a vision. It was a vision of the future, a vision of a disease that would sweep the nation and claim the life of my best friend. I warned my mother- I warned everybody I could speak to, damn it!- but she and everyone else ignored me. Two weeks later, my best friend Johnny was dead on the streets.

And that was when I realized there was something different about me. Johnny's death almost destroyed me- I was only young, you must remember. Fifteen is not yet adulthood, and loosing the person you loved most in this world is not something easy to forget. Especially when you could have saved him.

Then, after many months, it seemed I was recovering. I could finally go a whole day without thinking of him! It was a triumph to me, yet my mother and father told me it 'was about time'. It seemed that as I grew older, they understood me less and less. And by the time my sixteenth birthday came about, I was almost recovered.

But that was when I had another vision. This time I saw my whole family dead- their house burning to the ground and me with it. I could see in clarity the red-hot flames that shot up the house, and could all but smell the ash and smoke that hung thickly over our street. I was so afraid then. More afraid than I had ever been- for my life, and for my sister's. I didn't much care about my mother.

Two days after my birthday, I ran away. I had told my mother about the vision- had warned her of the fire, but she laughed it off. Even then, I could see the glint of doubt and humour in her eyes, yet I was being serious. I spent the next week living basically from a dustbin, and by the time I was found and returned home, I was dangerously thin. My mother, father and sister were well. In perfect health, they told me with a mocking smile. The fire had never happened.

For the next week, I was the laughing stock of my family. My mother made fun of me at every opportunity she could get, and my father often joined in. Yet still, I believed in the reliability of my visions even though the fire had never happened. I was sure it was not just my overactive imagination vying for attention, as my father put it.

I did not eat. I hardly slept. And night and day now, I was plagued with visions of what could be, what should be, and what might be. Nothing was ever certain. I appealed one last time to my mother for her to believe me, and the next morning I found myself in a mental asylum. She had betrayed me- given me up. She said that I was no longer her child, and a shame to her family. I never forgot those words.

So, that is how I find myself here, now. In this dark cell with its dirty bunk and its one small table, which is actually just a cardboard box. The door is constantly barred, and the only light in the room is from the small bulb that swings above my head in the uncommon drafts that sweep across the dusty floors when someone opens the door. I am not surprised am I insane. Three years in this hellhole, and no one could keep their sanity!

Sometimes, when I am particularly out of my mind (note the pun!) with boredom, I count my toes. I don't know why, but it amuses me. And there always seems to be a different number! Yesterday I could count eleven, but today I only have nine. I don't know whether it's my counting that's wrong, or that the pills and food we have here are affecting my brain so much that I can no longer do simple arithmetic.

And other times, I think someone is in this room with me, talking to me, keeping me company. But when I turn around it is just my shadow.

Long hours I have spent chasing it around my cell like a dog.

Once I spent a week pulling every nail from my fingers. I couldn't even feel the pain after that. They took a long time to grow back, but it gave me pleasure to watch them. I was certainly more interesting than watching paint dry, though I had time to do that too, if I wanted. I had the time for anything.

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This is the POV most of you wanted! I hope you enjoyed it! I certainly enjoyed writing it!

But now I haven't done any of my homework and I hope I have time to do it in the morning, before school! THAT IS WHAT I HAVE SACRIFICED FOR YOU! Hehe :D

Please review  It would make my boring week better!

And tell me who you want me to do next!

CullenLove


	6. The Pumpkin Suit

**Some of the characters may be a little OOC, but as it's funny, I thought you wouldn't mind!**

**Bella is still human in this.**

**Enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: **

**I don't own the sexy stripper Edward. Or any of the others ******

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**The Cullen Family**

"Step on it Eduardo, or the shop will be shut by the time we get there!" Alice called in her chime-like voice from the backseat.

Edward growled under his breath and didn't push the car any faster. "Number one," he said in his icy perfect voice, his jaw clenched with annoyance, "My name is NOT Edwardo."

"Eduardo," Alice corrected.

"Same thing," Edward hissed. "Number two, I don't want to go to this stupid shop anyway, and number three, THE CAR WONT GO ANY FASTER!"

Jasper grinned and used his power to send a wave of calm through the car. Edward relaxed, his muscles untensed, and he leant back against the car seat. His eyes fluttered closed, and his hands dropped slowly from the steering wheel.

"Edward! Watch it!" Bella screamed, her voice worried and high. The car screeched and careened across the road. Rosalie leant forward from the backseat and slapped Edward on the face, which woke him from the serene trance-like state Jasper had put him into. He righted the car and growled louder.

"I think you overdid it with the calm," Emmett snickered.

"Yeah, I guess," Jasper said, flicking Alice on the nose and looking out the window with a bored expression on his face.

"You might not care, Jasper," Bella said harshly, "But if we crashed this car, then I would die!"

"Sorry, Bella," Jasper said, putting on a pair of puppy-dog eyes.

Bella melted.

"Why do we have to go to this stupid shop anyway?" Edward whined.

"Because its HALLOWEEN!" Alice shouted excitedly.

_Oh no, not Halloween! _Esme thought, _what happened last year was enough Halloween forever. I don't ever want to clean up that much mess again. My fingers still ache from all the cleaning and my mouth still hurts from all the apologizing I had to do!_

All the Cullens were squished in the back of Edward's Volvo. Rosalie was constantly moaning about the lack of space, Emmett was grinning to himself because she had to sit on his knee because of the limited room, Alice was squashed against the window, her cheek pressed against the glass, Esme was stuck in the middle, and Carlisle was in the boot.

Alice who had been screaming that they had to LEAVE NOW had forced him into the boot, and it had been closed before he could get out. His thoughts were filled with, _who left this in here? I'll bet Edward hasn't noticed this! _and the occasional snort could be heard from behind them.

Edward pulled up the car in front of a small store, which had brightly coloured lights flashing neon from every surface they could possibly be attached to. A big, bright white sign above the door said, 'PERKIN'S RENTAL, COSTUMES FOR EVERY OCCASION!'

"Here we are," Alice said brightly.

Bella and Edward, who were sitting in the drivers seat and the passengers seat, lounging in the legroom that was available to them, got out of the car and sauntered slowly towards the shop.

"OY!" Emmett shouted, banging on the window. "We can't get out of here!"

Alice's whole body was now squished against the glass, which looked to be in danger of cracking.

Rosalie yanked on the door handle and the car door opened, spilling all five vampires onto the concrete. They straightened up, Alice looking around frantically to check whether anybody had noticed their graceful entrance to the Port Angeles community, and when all was announced 'clear', she trotted after Bella and Edward to the shop.

"HELP!" Carlisle shouted from the boot as the rest of his family disappeared towards the shop. "I CAN'T GET OUT!"

Esme turned and hurried back towards the car, and helped Carlisle out. They followed their children into the shop, with the occasional mutter of, 'Children these days…'

"HELLO AND WELCOME TO PERKIN'S COSTUME RENTAL!" shouted a small, stout man enthusiastically as the eight stunning people entered his shop.

"Hey," Alice said, with a wiggle of her eyebrows. "Nice suit."

The man was wearing a bright purple suit, which was polka-dotted with mustard yellow dots.

"THANKS!" the man shouted with a smile.

"He seems incapable of speaking below a scream," Edward muttered under his breath to Bella, who snorted.

"WHAT SORT OF COSTUME ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?" asked the man, his face turning purple as he yelled brightly at them.

"Oh, just something for Halloween," Alice answered, and then she disappeared into the rows on rows of shelves, pulling Bella along with her. The shop seemed to be much bigger than it looked from the outside.

"HOW ABOUT YOU, MY FINE YOUNG MAN?" the man bellowed at Edward, who cringed. He poked his ear to check it was still attached to his head, and the man hadn't blown it off with the force of his words.

"Ugh," Edward answered. "I'm not looking for anything. I don't want to dress up. I was dragged here."

"NONESENSE!" the man shouted. "HERE AT PERKINS WE HAVE A COSTUME FOR ANY OCCASION UNDER THE SUN! WE HAVE PARTY COSTUMES, ANNIVERSARY COSTUMES, HALLOWEEN COSTUMES, WEDDING COSTUMES, EASTER COSTUMES AND CHRISTMAS COSTUMES! NOT TO MENTION OUR LARGE RANGE OF HOOKER COSTUMES, SLUTTY NURSE COSTUMES, SEXY STRIPPER COSTUMES-"

"Oh, god NO!" Edward shouted.

"THEN HOW ABOUT COMING WITH ME?" the man said, dragging Edward by the arm, "I'LL FIX YOU UP, LITTLE GUY!"

And with one last pleading look; Edward was dragged out of sight.

"SO…" the man said, picking up three costumes in a variety of colours, and pushing Edward through a curtain into a secret room which had 'PRIVATE BACK ROOM!' written in capitals on the door. "HERE YOU GO!" And he thrust a few tiny pieces of lacy material through the curtain and into Edward's hands.

"What the hell are these?" Edward growled.

"JUST PUT THEM ON!"

"No!" Edward groaned.

Bella skipped towards the shop attendant, wearing an adorable bunny outfit, (Ps. It was Bella wearing the bunny outfit, not the shop attendant!).

"Is Edward in there?" she asked.   
"YES! HE'S TRYING ON ONE OF MY COSTUMES RIGHT NOW!"

"Oh, wow," Bella said with a smile, "He's actually cooperating! I'm so proud of him! I love you Edward!" she shouted through the curtain.

Edward, who had, at that exact second, been just about to rip the costume into tiny little pieces (or even smaller than it already was), groaned. He couldn't refuse to try it on now. Regretfully, he stripped and put on the tiny pieces of material.

"Ready yet?" Bella asked, bouncing up and down in her bunny outfit.

"Yeah," Edward said in a subdued voice.

The shop attendant whipped back the curtain.

And Edward was standing there, wearing nothing but a lacy black thong, (Breathe, readers, breathe!). His pale skin was shining, but not quite glittering, in the light from the hippie pink light bulb that hung above their heads.

"You look wonderful!" Bella said, jumping at him.

"_Wonderful?_" Edward scoffed.  
"Tres, tres sexy," Bella said with a feeble attempt at French. "This is perfect," she said to the shop attendant.

"Bella!" Edward almost shouted, "I can't get this! I have to GO AROUND TO OTHER PEOPLE'S HOUSES in costume! I can't walk down the street in nothing but a thong!"

"Don't be stupid," Bella said. "Of course you-"

"No," Edward said, "No way!" And he ripped off the thong in one movement and jumped behind the curtain before anyone could see anything. "Get something _bigger,_" Edward said from behind the curtain.

"OF COURSE, VALUED CUSTOMER!"

In the next second, the three outfits had been discarded and the shop attendant was back.

"HOW TALL DID YOU SAY HE WAS?" the man asked Bella.

"A bit taller than six foot," Bella said.

"WE HAVE ONLY ONE COSTUME THAT WILL FIT HIM, THEN," the shop attendant bellowed. "UNLESS YOU WANT SOMETHING FROM THE GIRLS RANGE?" he asked Edward.

"NO!" came the answer. "I'll take anything but that!"

The shop attendant smiled manically and flourished a massive costume, which was bright orange with dark green trappings.

"MAY I PRESENT, THE PUMPKIN OUTFIT!"

"No…!" Edward wailed, "This can't be happening!"

"You asked for something _bigger, _Edward, and this is what you get!" Bella laughed. She took the massive costume and pushed it through the curtain.

A few tangled curses later, Edward was dressed.

"I look stupid," he moaned from behind the curtain.

"Let's see then," Bella giggled. She whipped back the curtain… and there was Edward, his face forlorn, standing in the biggest, brightest costume they had in the shop. His arms were stuck horizontally out of the sides of the costume, and on his head was perched a little orange and green hat, which was the top of the pumpkin.

"I am _not_ wearing this."

"Oh, yes you are," Alice said, appearing in a fairy costume to gawk and grin at her miserable brother. Jasper came up behind her, wearing a Prince Charming outfit. Emmett was dressed as Captain Hook of Peter Pan, and Rosalie as Tinkerbell.

"Edward, you are wearing the pumpkin suit or I'm not getting married to you," Bella said.

"Since when was 'force your fiancée into a stupid, fat, bright orange pumpkin suit that smells of moth balls' part of the bargain?" Edward asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"We're going to pay," Alice said, and dragged the others away so we could have some privacy. The shopkeeper waddled after them.

"If you wear the suit, you can ask one other thing of me," Bella said.

"Like what?" Edward said, interested now.

"Anything."

Edward smiled and walked forward, a lop-sided grin on his face. He reached out to pull Bella towards him, but found his way blocked by a massive mass of orange material. Cursing, he pulled it over his head in one fluid motion and pulled Bella closer. The pumpkin suit dropped to the floor behind him.

"Anything?" he questioned, massaging a spot on Bella's neck with his lips.

Bella nodded, her breath coming out as quick gasps.

"Anything, like…" he trailed off. Edward ran his hands down Bella's shoulders and left them on her lower back. "…This?" and he kissed her again on her neck, moving his lips down to the first button on her top. He opened it with his teeth. "…Right here?"

"You… you want…" Bella moaned as Edward kissed her again. "…That… here?"

Edward opened the next button with his teeth. "There's your answer," he whispered in his velvety voice, his breath cold against her exposed skin.

"Not here," Bella groaned. "Anything but that. Not in public."

Edward pulled back, and leant against the wall, as far away from Bella as he could possibly get. "Fine then," he said in mock annoyance. "No pumpkin suit."

"Awww," Bella said, "Edward! That's not fair."

"Nope. You chose the rules."

"I'm begging you," Bella said, kneeling down and shuffling across the floor. She looked up at Edward with wide eyes. He shook his head once again. Bella hid her amusement as she slowly and deliberately ran her hands up Edward's legs, from his shoes upwards.

Edward moaned, "No Bella…" His eyes looked tortured.

Bella carried on.

"Stop it," Edward whispered, and stopped her hands just as they reached his thighs. He wrapped his hands around her small ones and removed them from his body. "Fine," Edward said through his teeth. "I'll wear the damn suit."

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REVIEW!

I hope you liked it!  
Review to tell me if you did or not!  
Tell your friends! (he he) (Like they say at circuses!)

CullenLove


	7. Additional Chapter: Jacob Black

Okay, I know these chapters are kind of turning into random oneshots… but I can't do the Cullens I haven't done, (Rosalie, Emmett, Esme) until I have more ideas! And I do have an idea for Emmett (XD) but I wanted to write this one first!

**I dedicate this chappie to my friend who is a Jacob-lover. She is a bit depressed at the moment, so this is dedicated to her and I hope she feels happier soon! GO CAZ (That's her name XD)**

**And BixxaCullen if you are reading this, then YOU ROCK TOO!**

**As do all my lovely reviewers!  
DISCLAIMER: I don't claim to own the characters. **

**PS. BELLA IS A VAMPIRE IN THIS CHAPPIE!**

**Warning: This chapter is angsty. **

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**Jacob Black (Told from Bella's POV)**

Edward had gone. Hunting.

I was alone in the house; the others had all gone with him, apart from Esme, who was cleaning so quietly downstairs that I could hardly hear her, even with my vampire hearing.

I was been changed, almost forty years ago, to this day. This was the first time Edward had left me alone for even an hour, in all that time. I was getting better at saying no to my overwhelming thirst for human blood, and I hadn't even drank from a human once. My slate was clean.

With nothing to do to pass the time, while my love was gone, I went over to his music CD collection and slipped a CD into his player. The room that Edward and I shared in this house was similar to the one in Forks, and Esme had tried very hard to make it that way when we first came. My heart twinged with affection for her. She tried so hard to keep me happy.

The CD was by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, one of Edward's choice bands. The extent of my music collection was the CDs of Edward's composed piano pieces that he had made me over the years. All the other music that I wanted to listen to was in Edward's collection. As soon as I told him I liked a certain band, he went out and brought every CD they had ever made.

The music hummed quietly through the speakers, and I leant back and buried my head in the mountain of pillows on our bed. I blankly heard the music, but my thoughts were somewhere else. The music I had put on was just for background noise.

My mind wandered down the roads of memories, and alone in the room, I went down a path I had left untouched for decades. I went back to Forks.

_Charlie… _

My father had died five years ago, of a heart attack. I had first heard, through Alice, who had had a vision. Even her visions weren't certain, I had pleaded when she had told me. Let me go back to Forks, and check on him, I had begged. But then the next day I had received a letter. From Jacob. Alice's vision had happened- my father was dead.

_Jake… _

I could see his face in my mind now. His beautiful skin, his full lips, his dark hair and eyelashes. His lanky body that was banded with muscle. The way he stood so much taller than me, the way he would laughingly lift me onto his shoulders so I could see above the crowd.

Then I remembered the last time I saw him. A year after my wedding, a year after I had been changed. His crumpled face as he looked upon the monster he saw me as.

And then the Chilli Peppers song that I was listening to caught my attention, reminding me so much of Jacob that my heart panged with loss.

_I got dosed by you…_

_Closer than most to you… _

_Take it away, I never had it anyway… _

That part was so true. When I had suggested that I leave- take away my love for him so that he wouldn't hurt- he told me that he had never had my love anyway. I had almost cried because of those words- but as a vampire, no tears came.

_Take it away and everything will be okay…_

Way up on the mountain where she died… 

Oh, the irony, I thought. Edward had bitten me on a mountain. Under my request. I had been feeling odd that day, and had begged Edward, as his wedding present to me, to take me to Mt. Everest. Like I wanted, he bit me way up on the mountain, at about the first camp. Except he had booked all of the camp tents, so no other humans came to get in the way. And the snowy mountain helped the burning pain I felt when changing.

And once I was a vampire, I kept it together (refusing my thirst) for long enough to climb all the way to the top of Everest, without a problem. I didn't need the oxygen masks that the humans needed. I felt on top of the world, up there.

_All I ever wanted was your life. _

This was also true. Jacob had never wanted me to change; he had wanted me to stay human. But I couldn't give that to him. I loved Edward. I loved Edward as much as I could physically love anything on the planet. I would give everything and anything up for Edward, and that is what I did when I decided to become a vampire.

That meant that I had given up my family.

Charlie.

Renée.

All my friends.

And the one that hurt the most… Jacob.

But I had chosen to give him up, and it was done now.

Standing up, I switched off the music.

I could hear the faint slam of a door as the hunters returned.

And my heart sang.


	8. Bella Swan: Changing

Okay I don't know much about doctoring, so please forgive me! All I know is from watching casualty! Just suspend your doubt and read it through like it is real and correct! Thanks :P

Enjoy!

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Bella Swan

It would be five hours, thirty-six minutes, and a couple of seconds before Edward had promised he would be back. Now, I just had to decide what to do to occupy myself for all that time.

I had done all of the laundry and cleaned the house only two days ago- so I couldn't find something to do inside the house. I hadn't seen Jacob for three weeks, and he said that he wanted to keep it that way. Although I missed him, I didn't want to disrespect his wishes, so I had been forcing myself to keep away. More than once, I had been in the car before I told myself that I couldn't go. I had been on the brink of indecision more times than I could count on my fingers and toes.

I took my time over getting dressed, doing each button up as slowly as I could bear. Then I stumbled down the stairs and took more time over breakfast. When I could draw out my daily tasks no longer, I took my car keys and decided to go for a drive. Maybe something would come into my mind as I drove.

The car seemed even slower than normal this morning, though I rejoiced in this fact. I wanted to waste the day as fast as I could. I drove for half an hour around Forks, absentmindedly re-living in my mind scenes from the past week. Happiness filled me as I remembered the day Edward proposed to me, and when I realized that the wedding was only a matter of weeks away.

The steering wheel shuddered under my hands, yanking me from my daydream. The car's engine roared even louder than normal, a screeching, and grinding noise filling up the truck. I slapped the dashboard worriedly- the car had begun to slow down, crawling along the road at snail's pace. I revved the engine, and all that I was met with was a harsh noise, almost as if the car was screaming. Cars can't scream; stop being stupid, Bella, I reminded myself.

Now the noises seemed more like groans. A line of cars about five long were beginning to appear behind me. I was blocking the road, and my car seemed to be breaking down. I slammed on the accelerator, and with a loud crunch the pedal snapped off. The car wailed out a honking noise, and I swore loudly. Before I could do anything else, a billowing pillar of smoke appeared through the hole where the pedal had been, and I began to cough. There were several ear-splitting bangs, and the whole car shuddered. A scream escaped my mouth as a tongue of flame began to leap towards my feet from the broken metal. The car had stopped now completely, but I couldn't see anything else as I scrambled to try and get out of the way of the fire. I yelled again, fumbling with my seat belt to try and get myself undone. And before I knew it, the truck was engulfed in a raging inferno of roaring flames.

I felt my head hit the steering wheel as I collapsed from smoke inhalation, and the last thing I heard was the blaring honk of my horn.

There was heaviness in my limbs, as if a coat of grey was shrouding my body. My mind was sluggish, my reactions slow, and a burning pain was slowly making its way up my throat. I was short of breath, gasping in lungfuls of sharp air which ripped their way down my throat as if they were knife-blades. I shuddered as another stab of pain swept through me. And then I heard a voice, a voice so soft and smooth that it could not have been human. A voice that spoke of velvet and silk. The voice of my love.

I cracked open an eye, my whole body yearning for the sight of him. I could feel my body tingling, the pain now background as I longed for his face. But what I saw was not my Edward. It was a different man, a man with skin as pale as snow, lips as perfect as if they were carved in an angel's face, and hair as messy and golden as a model's. An expression of sharp worry was on his face, his features contorted as if I was looking at him through a looking-glass.

"Carlisle?" I whispered, the words croaky. I coughed loudly, and scrabbled at my throat as no air seemed to reach my lungs. My breath was coming out in sharp wheezes, and I couldn't breathe.

"Bella! Breathe!" Carlisle shouted. He was running along beside me, and for some odd reason I was seeing him from below, and horizontally. I noticed with a start that I was lying on a stretcher, four people were carrying it, and we were making a beeline for the hospital doors. "Don't give up Bella! Do it for Edward! Breathe!"

I shuddered and fell back down onto the stretcher, and for all my feverish attempts, I couldn't even breathe in a lungful of air. My eyes flickered closed, and the angel's face stayed with me in my mind's eye. He was speaking, but no sound came through his parted lips.

"We have inability to respire," I heard an urgent voice call; "Severe damage to lungs from smoke inhalation. The patient is unconscious."

"We have to be quick. Pass me-"

"Here."

I could hear a regular beating which was getting faster and faster.

"Thanks. Heart rate accelerating! Get me-"

I opened my eyes for a second, and saw a room full of people, all rushing around and crowding around me. What were they doing? Where was I?

"Patient needs another dose of pain relief!"

And then I felt the jab of a needle, and knew no more.

Carlisle's POV

My secretary was waiting behind her desk as always, a bright smile on her face.

"Hello, Dr. Cullen," she said, bustling about around her desk. "Had a good day?"

"How many times do I have to ask you to call me Carlisle?" I answered with a smile.

"At least one more," she said back, blush creeping up her cheeks.

"You say that every time I ask," I answered, taking the jacket which she passed to me. I put it on over the clothes I wore in the hospital and grabbed the keys to my Mercedes from the safe.

"Any hard cases today?"

"Not really. A couple of tibia breaks, one femur, a dislocated hip… nothing I can't deal with."

"Are you coming back this afternoon?" she asked. She thought I was going home for lunch. I hated wasting time I could be helping or saving people to pretend I was human, but it was necessary. We have to appear as normal as possible, after all.

"Yes, I'll be back in about an hour."

"See you then," she whispered as I turned away. I shook my head as I walked down the corridor.

As I passed through the hospital doors I heard the screaming siren of an incoming ambulance. I had to restrain myself not to go straight back into work to help the person coming in. The ambulance raced into the car park and within a few seconds, a stretcher had been unloaded from the back. As I passed, I saw a pale as death face, and a mop of dark brown hair. It was a few seconds before I recognized the face. It was Bella!

Within a second, I had run at vampire speed back across the car park and was sprinting alongside the stretcher. I couldn't go home now.

"What happened to her?" I quizzed the stretcher-bearer. I saw an oxygen mask on Bella's face and lots of bad burns all over her. Her face was pale and her eyes were closed. I could hear a faint heartbeat, going slower than it should.

"Her car blew up," the man said, "The engine exploded."

"She inhaled a lot of smoke," I said. It wasn't a question.

The stretcher-bearers didn't quiz me on how I knew, they just nodded. They were used to me diagnosing patients much quickly and more accurately than other doctors. Centuries of experience had taught me a lot. And I knew that Bella was dying.

"I'll treat her," I said, knowing they would be glad of it. I was the best doctor at the hospital.

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen," one man said.

We raced through the doors and I threw my jacket to my secretary again, dumping the car keys in her hands as we rushed past. She didn't question me.

It took two minutes for Bella to be taken to the theatre room, where we did operations and took care of critically ill patients. The rest of the room was empty. We didn't have many patients with life-threatening cases here in Forks, so it was empty apart from Bella. There were two doctors and three nurses ready in the room.

I explained the case to them as I examined Bella. She was in a bad way- very bad. If I was honest with myself, I didn't think she could survive this. She had too much damage to her tissue from the fire, and had inhaled too much smoke. I didn't know what to do- I felt helpless. This was Edward's true love, and part of our family. And Edward was away.

"Call this number and tell him what has happened," I said, passing a business card which had Edward's mobile number on it to my secretary who had come into the room. "Its Edward, you know, my son? This is his girlfriend."

My secretary nodded bleakly and rushed out the door. I wondered why Alice hadn't seen this happening, but I didn't blame her. No one was infallible.

Ten minutes later and I knew I had no more time. If my secretary had been able to get through to Edward who was away hunting, then he would be racing back right now. He probably was. The problem was that… and I hated to even think it… I didn't think Bella would survive until he arrived. I had to act now or loose her forever. And I couldn't let that happen, because I would loose Edward too.

I needed a plan.

Why was the room so full of witnesses when we needed to be alone? How could I smuggle Bella out of the hospital and bite her, because that surely was the only thing left I could do if I wanted to save her? For once, I had no idea.

As I battled away the minutes trying to prolong Bella's human life, my quick mind planned how I would end it. I would need less people in the room… or I would need to convince them Bella had died. How could I do that, when the room was filled with the sound of Bella's heartbeat, broadcast out loud for everybody to hear, by a machine? I would have to wire the machine to show incorrect information. But messing with machines was Rosalie's forte, not mine. Did I know enough from watching Rosalie fix cars and my extensive knowledge on the medical machines to do it? I had to try.

"Marta I think you can take a break," I said to one of the nurses. She nodded and left the room without comment. Now there was one less witness. It was a shame I couldn't ask more of them to leave, but that would seem suspicious. I don't want to get blamed for murder.

"I don't think she's going to live," one of the doctors said to me.

"We've done everything we can," another said. "Where is her family?"

"Her father doesn't know yet. Someone should contact him," I said. One of the doctors agreed to do it, and disappeared. Now there was only one doctor, two nurses, and myself.

While all three of them were occupied checking Bella's blood test printouts, I moved at vampire speed to the machine that was showing her heartbeat. As fast as I could, I sprinted around to the back of it and plied the back off. All I could see was a jumbled mass of wires and metal, so acting on an instinct that told me to break the red wire; I snapped it easily between my fingers. There was a quiet beeping and then one long beep which didn't stop. I jammed the back of the machine back on and moved back at vampire speed to my previous position, before the rest of them turned around.

When they did, they stared at the machine with wide eyes. If they had stopped to think, they would have noticed that the oxygen mask Bella was wearing was still supplying her with oxygen and she was still taking it in. But they weren't as experienced as me, and the hospital had not lost life more than six times all the time I had been here. Naturally, they were shocked.

"We failed," one whispered.

Both nurses had to leave the room, one of them crying silently and the other supporting her. Their training obviously wasn't enough to see them through, though I didn't blame them. But the other doctor had transferred from a larger hospital in a city, and was used to death. He turned to me for advice.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" he asked.

"I don't think so," I replied. "It's too late now. Her cells were damaged by the fire. Have you seen her legs? And can't you smell the singed flesh?"

"Yes, I can."

"She inhaled too much smoke," I said, which was true. I wasn't pretending Bella was dead when she could have survived, I was pretending she was dead before she actually did die. And I knew she would die. If she possibly survived, by some miracle, then she would have to have special breathing apparatus and probably both her legs amputated.

The doctor nodded solemnly. "I'll have to go and tell her parents she's dead. I'll leave it to you to get rid of her body. I'll ring someone and they can come and pick it up from you."

"No, it's all right. I can ring someone," I answered quickly. I intended to take Bella away myself, and if this doctor rang someone to take away the body then they would wonder where it was.

Two minutes later, I was alone with Bella in the room. I checked over her- she was still breathing- and then quickly I picked her limp body from the bed, discarding the oxygen mask. I just hoped that she could survive without it until I could get somewhere were I could bite her. And I just hoped she survived the three days it took to become a vampire, once the venom was in her system. I held her carefully, as gently as possible, and then began to run. I went out a back entrance, running at vampire speed, and into the woods at the back of the hospital. I had run for about a minute when I couldn't go further because Bella wouldn't be able to survive any longer without an oxygen mask. And then I lay her on the mossy ground, exposing her neck. I would have to do it as cleanly as possible, so she didn't loose too much blood. The chances of her surviving were slim as it is.

"I'm sorry about this Bella," I whispered. She didn't answer, as predicted, but I thought I saw her eyelids flicker. I took her hand, squeezed it lightly, and then sank my teeth into her neck.

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I am sorry if you know a lot about doctoring and it doesn't make sense… but please don't flame me just because of that. You can flame me if you have good reason, because I believe my self-esteem can take it! Though I do prefer nice reviews :P

And if thinking of it this way is better… doctoring is like this in a parallel world which this One-Shot is set in!

Thanks for reading :D  
CullenLove


	9. Happiness Passed Me By

**I know this fanfic is turning into random OneShots, not a chapter for each character, but I hope you don't mind!  
If you do, just tell me in a review and I'll see what I can do to make it how you would like it!**

**This poem is from the point of view of Bella after Edward leaves in New Moon. **

** Happiness Passed Me By **

**By CullenLove (But for the purposes of this, it was written by Bella)**

You left me without a single word,

A single tear to cry.

And all alone, I'm on my own

And happiness passed me by.

Wrapped up in reams and reams of thoughts,

Why didn't you love me too?

It takes nearly everything to forget,

But my mind always returns to you.

On the darkest days, when my light was out,

You always knew where my switch was.

And failing that, you found a match,

And set me burning along with you.

How can I survive without my heart?

For I lost it when you left,

And that two-way thing that lovers do,

Live more as one than two.

You left me without a single word,  
A single tear to cry.

And all alone, I'm on my own,

And happiness passed me by.


	10. Emmett Cullen

I wrote Emmett next, because he was a very popular runner-up when I asked you guys who you wanted me to do next. Instead of doing the usual 'funny Emmett joke moment' OneShot, I decided to do something more original, and instead wrote a love scene between him and Rosalie. I hope it isn't _too _fluffy! 

The next chapter will be from Rosalie's point of view, and _will _have some funny Emmett moments, so if it's those you like, they are coming!

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"_Are _you coming Emmett?" I heard my angel shout gently up from downstairs.

"Yes, Rosalie," I said back, knowing she would hear, "I'm coming."

I ran down the stairs and skidded to a stop in front of her.

"You look beautiful, baby," I said to her, spinning a curl of her blonde hair around my finger. She looked up at me with her big golden eyes and smiled to show her perfect teeth.

"Of course I do, Emmett," she said. "I spent the last three hours getting ready."

"I thought we were only going hunting," I said.

"We are… but I thought we could go for a walk or something before," she said, with a glint in her eyes. I didn't miss the implied meaning in her tone. I grinned.

"But I haven't got ready…" I said. "I'm just wearing boring normal clothes."

"Well I'll have to take them off quickly then," Rosalie grinned. I could tell she was thinking something, because I could hear Edward groan from the other room.

I took Rosalie's hand and walked her towards the door. Just as I held the front door open for her, I saw Alice dart out from the kitchen and whisper something so quickly and quietly in Rose's ear that I didn't catch it. She nodded to Alice and smiled wider. _What had Alice said? Maybe I could get it out of Rose later…_

"Would madam like to drive?" I asked, holding the keys a centimetre from her open hand.

Rosalie giggled, and snatched the keys from my hand. As I got in, I could hear her mutter, "Yes, madam would," to herself. She started up her red convertible, and in seconds, we were shooting down the drive and away from the house.

"Where are we going hunting?" I asked after a while.

"Not far from here," Rosalie said. She didn't offer any more information, and I guessed that it was a secret. Then she started up a conversation on the next holiday she would like to go on, to Barcelona. I didn't bother telling her that there would be too much sun in Spain to go out in the daytime. Maybe she wanted to go out at night, so sneak into the landmarks and go around when they were empty. I had no objection to this- anything that made her happy made me happy too.

After a few minutes of uncharacteristic silence, when I was just about to ask Rose what was wrong, she spoke.

"Don't you think its funny that Edward is the only one who is alone in our family, and he's been with Carlisle the longest?" she whispered.

"He has Bella," I answered straight away.  
"Well, yes," Rosalie said, a frown resting above her eyebrows.

And then she was silent some more.

"What are you thinking?" I pressed, taking one of her hands from the wheel and kissing the back of it.

Rosalie thought before she spoke, looking away from me. "…Do you think Bella is prettier than me?"

I let my breath out in a whoosh through my teeth before answering. "Rose, baby, how could you even need to ask that?"

She looked away again. I turned her chin with a finger so she was looking at me. I didn't even worry about the fact that she was driving at the same time, because I was watching the road out of the corner of my eye.

"Rose," I said, squeezing her hand, "You are the most beautiful thing my eyes have ever seen. You eclipse the sun, and the moon. You are more radiant than the brightest summers day, and more beautiful than winter's intricate snowflakes in early morning. I love you more than you can comprehend, more than is healthy- you make me whole. I would be lost without you."

Rose looked down at our hands, which were intertwined. She smiled, though she looked like she was about to cry. I think she probably would have if she had been able to.

"That was beautiful, Emmett," she whispered. "Thank you."

"The very best of Nature's creation," I whispered into her hair, leaning forward to kiss her. I pressed my lips to her temple as she unwillingly turned back to the road.

She squeezed my hand once more, and didn't let go.

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As per usual, I would love it if you reviewed!

Thanks :D

And here is another question for you guys… who would you like me to do next, after Rosalie?

There isn't a choice of three, its just anyone you want! So tell me who!

CullenLove


	11. Valentines Special: A Story Of Love

**This is a Valentines present from me to you! Happy Valentines Day! **

**I present to you-**

**A Story Of Love…**

**The last in this fanfic…**

**Told through the eyes of our much loved Esme!  
Enjoy!**

**Disclaim.: Don't own. Bleugh. **

**OOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOoooooOOO**

Esme's POV 

I woke up alone, the house drafty through the open window, and dust billowing at my feet.

_Oh dear, _I thought, _this house is so dirty. It doesn't look like it's had a good clean in ten years. _

I shuffled across the room, my feet kicking up clouds of fluttering, billowing powder. I tutted inwardly, _why hadn't the room been taken care of?_

I was in what looked like a dark study, and the curtains were hanging lankly over the windows, riddled with moth holes. A large bookcase covered one wall, the books haphazardly crammed onto the shelves, and overflowing. There were piles and piles of sheets, leaflets, and papers sitting on a large wooden desk, and some littered across the floor.

I walked over to the desk, and picked up a sheet of paper that was resting on the top of the pile. It was made from thick cream paper, and the writing was curved in the eighteenth century style.

Birth and death papers, medical notes, and files for the client: 

_Esme Platt. _

My eyes widened with disbelief. I recognised my own name at once, like it was jumping out of the paper at me. And suddenly, as if a shroud had been lifted, my mind began to bulge with questions, where before it had just been blank confusion.

_Why are my medical records in this strange room? Why hasn't the room been cleaned in so long? Where was my baby? Why did the letter clearly say _death papers _when I was standing right here, seeing and smelling and touching…?_

I jumped a foot in the air when I heard a bang from behind me. I shot around, and saw the tall, lean figure of a man. And then it all came rushing back…

_My husband, gone away to the war. Becoming pregnant, fleeing home from abuse. My beautiful baby dying, jumping off the cliff…_

As an irrational fear swept through me, I stepped back, raising my hands in front of my body, as if to protect myself. Men, men! How had they treated me except with contempt and cruelty?

The man just walked forward slowly, murmuring, "Don't be scared."

I couldn't see his body or face, the room was too dark, but his voice somehow soothed me. It was pleasantly deep, and low, like the soft notes on a piano.

It made a shiver run down my spine.

And then he stepped closer, and my eyes began to sharpen and focus, and my vision became clearer. It didn't matter that the room was almost black, tinged through shades of grey. It didn't matter that the only light was that which managed to break through the thick material of the curtain. Nothing mattered; I knew this man!

The strong line of his jaw, the golden eyes like pools of liquid amber. The blonde hair, that made my hands urge to reach forward and run my fingers through it… And most of all, that kind, understanding look in his eyes that had endeared him to my memory all those years ago in the hospital.

"Dr. Cullen?" I whispered. At once, my demeanour changed. I became frozen, and odd look on my face, and hope daring to burn behind my eyes.

"You can come closer, I don't bite," he said, with an sparkle of amusement in his eyes. His perfectly white teeth flashed in the darkness, somehow attracting the little light in the room.

I stepped forward, one little step, shocked and amazed in equal measure that he seemed to look no older than he the day I had first met him.

"Please," he murmured, extending his hand, "Call me Carlisle."

I took his hand gently in mine, and turned it so his fingers were pointing upwards. I couldn't help staring… I remembered so well those large hands with the perfectly rounded, short fingernails, that seemed to shine like diamonds were embedded in each finger. Those hands that had explored my leg and thigh with a fleeting touch all those years ago when I had broken my leg, making my skin burn and my cheeks flush. Those hands that I had imagined roving over my body whenever I was alone in the darkness of my room.

I couldn't believe he looked the same.

He slid his hand out of my soft grip, taking it back to his side. I was worried I had offended or disgusted him, clutching it in my own for so long, but when I looked up, he was smiling.

"I'm sure you have some questions you'd like to ask…" he prompted me, shuffling papers off a couch and onto the floor. He extended his hand for me to sit down, and I did so nervously.

He then sat down behind his desk, and stared at me intently through his misty eyes.

I was silent. My mind was blank; I was stuck in a rut, my brain functioning too slowly- taking him in.

His gaze lingered on my face for a few minutes, before he whispered under his breath, "I know you. I recognise your face."

I could help the smile that stretched across my face. _He remembers me, even though it was all those years ago?_

"I know what your name is of course," he said, gesturing at the pile of my medical records. "But now I look at you properly, I recognise your face. You're that young woman who broke her leg falling from a tree?"

I nodded once, my smile growing. "Dr. Cullen."

"I thought I asked you to call me Carlisle?" he said again, his voice lilting with a pleasant effect that sounded like music.

"But I know you as Dr. Cullen," I said, "It would be strange… to call you anything else."

"You may have a long time to get used to it," he murmured, almost too quietly for me to hear. I was surprised my ears could catch it. "Although…" he added, a thoughtful look coming on his face, "It depends… whether- of course, you may not want to… you may decide differently."

I looked at him, confused.

"I apologise," he said, "How rude of me. I was asking if you had any questions."

"I wondered why my death papers were on your desk, when I'm sitting here, obviously alive?" I said.

"Obviously?" he said, "What makes you think that?"

"Well, of course I am! I can breathe. I can run around—" I stood up, and ran across the limited space in the room, and then skidded to a stop. Had that really just happened? Had I really just crossed the large room in so short a time? Had my limbs really just felt light and free and unrestrained as they sped beyond the speed that was normal to run at?

"Ahh," Carlisle said. "I see you are finding out for yourself."

"What is this?" I said, "What am I?"

I looked down at my hands. I hadn't noticed before, but my skin was deathly pale like marble. I crossed the room, to where a gilt framed mirror hung above the fireplace… and screamed at the top of my lungs when I saw my reflection. I jumped backwards, knocking over the coffee table and sprawling onto my back. It made a massive crashing noise, and I looked down to notice I had snapped it clean in half. My chest heaved with fear. What had I seen in the mirror…?

A monster.

The door creaked open almost soundlessly and a boy came into the room. His auburn-bronze hair shined in the light as it hung around his topaz eyes. His angles of his face were sharp were Carlisle's were soft, and his lean body more boyish. He was as jarringly beautiful as the other man in the room.

"Is everything all right?" he asked politely. "I heard a crash."

"Yes, thank you, Edward," Carlisle said, a smile coming onto his face as he saw the boy.

Edward walked slowly into the circle of light cast by the candle. He peered down at me with a thoughtful look on his face.

_Oh no, _I thought, _I've just blown it by breaking their coffee table! They are going to throw me out and I'll have nowhere to go!_

"I'm sure that's not going to happen," Edward smiled, as if answering my thoughts.

Carlisle came to stand beside Edward, and offered me his hand. I looked shyly up from under my eyelashes as his strong fingers wrapped around mine as he gently pulled me up from the floor.

I saw a small smile creep onto Edward's face as Carlisle steadied me by the waist.

My skin burned where his hand had been, and my fingers tingled. Carlisle went to sit behind his desk again, and Edward walked towards the door.

"I'll leave you to it, then Carlisle," Edward said. "Nice to meet you Esme."

I nodded back at him, and as the door closed, I realized I had never told him my name. _How had he known?_

"Is that what I look like?" I said, staring back into the mirror. My eyes were like fire, and my skin was so pale it was almost see-through.

"Don't you like what you see?" Carlisle said softly.

I ran a finger down my cheek, and then traced my jaw line until it turned into my neck. I ran the other hand over my stomach, across my butt, and then up my back. I played with a couple of strands of my caramel hair as I stared into my reflected eyes.

_My body feels firmer, _I thought, _and I like that. But red eyes? How has this happened? And what's this prickling in my throat?_

"May I have a glass of water?" I asked.

A smile stretched across Carlisle's face, and my knees began to feel a little weak.

"Water isn't what you need," he said softly, getting up from the chair. My breathing came faster as he neared me. "It's blood."

I frowned. "Pardon?"

"I don't know how to explain this," he said. "It's hard. But it's going to be worse for you."

"What are you talking about?"

"You fell off the cliff, and you died, Esme," Carlisle said.

"I jumped," I corrected him, and then the rest of his sentence sunk in, "What—?"

"You were hardly breathing when I found you," I said. "And when I saw you, I couldn't let you die. So I bit you."

_What was he talking about? Was this man, who I had dreamt of so frequently in my teenage years and onwards, completely mad? _

He continued, "I'm a vampire, Esme."

_Okay. He was definitely mad. _

"…And so are you, now."

"What are you saying this for? Vampires don't exist." I said. I looked around the room. "Did you take too many pills? Oh no, you didn't, did you? Doctors should know better. They are supposed to be for patients only…"

I walked forwards, intending to lower him into the chair and find a cold cloth to wipe his forehead with, when he shook his head.

"I'm not joking," he said. His amber eyes bled sincerity.

I frowned deeper. He _wasn't_ joking. And he didn't look like he had taken any pills.

"I don't understand."

"How can you deny it when you saw how different you look now?" he said, "Look in the mirror again, Esme. And tell me, do humans have skin as pale as snow, and eyes as red as a flame?"

I stared at my reflection. I was certainly not human. I hadn't been this unearthly beautiful before, with lashes as dark as charcoal and lips as red as blood.

Blood.

"Blood?" I said, "You said blood was what I need?"

"Yes," Carlisle said. "It's what we feed on."

"I wont drink any," I said stubbornly.

"You can't avoid it, Esme," Carlisle said, "I tried when I was first turned into a vampire, and I went mad. I ended up drinking in the end, we always do."

My eyes widened. This man, a killer? I couldn't believe it. He had been a hero-like presence through my childhood. He couldn't have killed people.

I backed towards the door, ever so slowly. Could I make it to the front door in time? I didn't even know where the front door was! Would he catch me?

"Is Edward a vampire, too?" I said to distract him as I edged backwards.

"Yes," Carlisle said. "He almost died of the Spanish Influenza. I saved his life. Or doomed it, it depends on how you see it."

I stepped the last step backwards and put my hands behind my back, running my hands up the wall and finding the doorknob. I kept my eyes locked on Carlisle's so he wouldn't look elsewhere and see my hands on the door.

"So how many people have you killed?" I said, trying and failing to control my voice. It wavered at the end.

_If he admits to murder, I run. _

I grasped the doorknob tighter.

"Murder?" Carlisle said, "Well, I wouldn't call it murder. I only bit Edward because he was going to die anyway. His mother begged me to save him."

_Oh, thank god, _I thought, _he isn't a murderer. Stupid Esme…. _

"And what about me?" I whispered, "Why did you bite me?"

"Because you were going to die."

"People die all the time," I challenged.

"I know," Carlisle said, "But it's my job, as a doctor, to try my best to prevent that."

"I don't think this counts as part of your job," I said, gesturing to myself. I looked sideways into the mirror again, and opened my small mouth. I ran my fingers along my teeth. "Why don't I have fangs?"

Carlisle chuckled.

"What?"

"Vampires don't have fangs," Carlisle said.

"Of course they—" I said, and then was seized by a sudden curiosity. "Can I see your coffin?"

A heard a loud laugh from in the house. _Edward? He'd heard me?_

Carlisle was smiling widely, his eyes twinkling. "Vampire's don't have coffins, either."

"Won't I be able to go to Church anymore?" I said, "Not that I enjoyed going, anyway… but I could get hit with holy water."

"Holy water!" I heard Edward snigger. He had come back into the room, and walked around me, sitting back on the sofa. "Oh, I have to hear this…"

"I presume garlic smells disgusting now, too. And probably potentially dangerous."

Edward was now holding his sides as his frame shook with laughter.

"And I hope no one around here has silver bullets. Or is it gold?" I said, looking at Carlisle for confirmation.

"Garlic? Coffins? Holy water?" Edward sniggered between each word, "Silver bullets? Where are you getting all this from?"

He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

"Edward," Carlisle said. "It is not polite to laugh at the guest."

Edward fell silent immediately, but a smile still lingered in his eyes.

I twirled a lock of hair around my finger nervously. _Why was what I had said so laughable?_ I felt embarrassed, and stupid.

"The vampires in your fairytales…" Carlisle explained, "Are nothing like real vampires. Firstly, real vampires don't sleep in coffins. To be honest, we don't sleep at all. And silver, and gold, and whatever material you like, doesn't harm us."  
"And neither does garlic," Edward added with a wink.

"We wont ever die…," Carlisle said.

I was beginning to like the sound of this! 

"…But we can never have children."

I froze.

"Never?" I whispered. All I had ever wanted was a child. And I had had one, but my beautiful baby boy had died as an infant. I missed him so much.

"I'm sorry," Carlisle said ever so gently, his voice low and soothing. "I know you had a baby."

I looked around and noticed Edward had gone. His footsteps were so quiet, I hadn't noticed.

Then it finally hit me that I would_ never have a child of my own. _I would never raise a family.

"That isn't fair," was all I could whisper. It felt like I should be crying, but no tears came. I felt a hard lump in my throat and my frame crumpled. In a second, I was sitting on the floor, my feet tucked underneath me, sobbing. Occasionally I let out a wail of anguish.

I was about to sob again, when I felt two solid arms wrap around me from behind, pulling me up off the floor. Then I felt a cold, but comforting body pressed against mine, soothing me as every angle of his body completed mine. I sighed deeply, but the sound was not one of sadness, it was one of contentment.

"Esme…" I heard him say. His voice was soft but tortured. He started to pull back, but I locked my hands in his so he couldn't move an inch.

"Don't," I murmured. "Just forget whatever you've learnt about being a gentleman."

I felt him smile into my hair. How did I know he wanted what I wanted? He was as reluctant to move away as I was. I could hear it in his voice, and I could feel it in the way his body reacted to mine. The way his arms wound tightly around me, as if to protect… the way his wandering lips found tender skin as he brushed his way down my shoulder, and a deep sound much like purring rumbled from within him.

_This, _I thought, _is worth everything I gave up._

OOOOOooooooooOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOoooOOOO

I hope you enjoyed reading this fanfiction!

Please review to tell me what you thought of it, this chapter, and all of them as a whole!

I hope you have a good Valentines Day, and for all those people (me included) who are yet to find love, then don't stop looking!

(Okay, cheesy lines are over now…)

CullenLove

Ps. To the person who threatened me with a giant kitty if I didn't update, then I hope this satisfies your sadistic taste!

Thanks for reading!


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